Parasha Bo- Friday's thoughts

In this week’s parasha, Bo, we are told that G-d hardened Pharoah’s heart so he would not let the children of Israel go out of the land of Egypt. That phrase made me think about the concept of hardened hearts and how desensitized we often become to life’s troubles and tragedies.

Think about what happens to us when we are inundated by scenes of natural disasters on television. We are often so overwhelmed by the constant barrage of images that we somehow block them out in an attempt to remove our discomfort. Think about what happens when we run into the faces of poverty in our midst….individuals begging for food or money….we can feel extremely ill at ease, and turn our eyes away in an attempt to feel less uneasy in their presence. Think about what happens when we witness discrimination and refuse to act…thinking it is easier to ignore it rather than fix it.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson points out that Pharoah wasn’t evil but he was indifferent. He was apathetic. His indifference allowed the Israelites to continue suffering and remain in pain. Perhaps the same can be said for us. When we turn our heads upon encountering painful scenes, our indifference actually permits pain and suffering to continue.

An example…We step into a restaurant for a bite to eat, and before we enter we encounter a beggar stretching out a hand asking for help. How many times have we felt uncomfortable and averted our eyes in order to not have to face the “face” of hunger on our way into such an establishment?

Another example…We watch the news and hear about a cataclysmic event in nature that takes thousands of lives and leaves survivors buried in the rubble. The world responds until the next news story takes precedence. How many years after the fact, are we still responding to the needs in those areas? When the story is no longer on the front pages of the newspapers or in the headlines of the news is our help still forthcoming?

A final example…We hear someone’s reputation being denigrated because of his/her sexual orientation, race, or religion. We know the words are hateful, but no one else is speaking out in their defense. Do we walk away or stand up to make a point about senseless hatred?

Sometimes we forget that indifference actually allows evil to trump good. Apathy is not merely a matter of not caring, it is also a matter of not stopping the ills that beset our world, our society. Apathy allows the homeless to remain homeless, the poor to remain hungry, and the bigot free to spew hateful words.

It is true that in parashat Bo G-d is said to have hardened Pharoah’s heart, but only after Pharoah refused to be moved by the suffering he saw in his midst. Perhaps what Torah is trying to tell us, is that if we refuse to respond to suffering time after time and instead turn away so we feel no discomfort…then our hearts will indeed become hardened.
Part of being human, is to recognize the plight of our fellow human beings and to try to help alleviate the suffering we encounter. We may not be able to do it all, but we are responsible to begin the task and to keep trying.

Shabbat Shalom.